From Stereotype to Discrimination (Participation on/before 10/6)

You will find two sets of videos below: (a) about stereotypes leading to humiliation (b) about stereotypes leading to death. Also, you will find (c) an article about our struggle to love black youth.

After watching and reading them, respond to the following statement in the comment box:

Apparently, racial stereotypes are so common in people of all races, but do racial stereotypes affect both white lives and nonwhite lives with same impacts? Why not? Can you include more examples of (a) and (b)?

Black children are presently under continual assault by well-maintained practices of white racial domination and exclusion, resulting in the marginalization of Africans and African Americans into adulthood. These children are under attack physically, psychologically and emotionally from the classroom to the movie screen and everything in between. Black children are being unjustly singled out and tormented; while some are denigrated and crucified in the media, others are shot in cold blood for merely wearing a hoodie or listening to loud music. The most recent psychological offense against a black child occurred when the Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis was announced to play the lead role in the remake of the Broadway hit Annie. This time the popular character would be played by a young black actress, to the exasperation of many whites. Similar controversy has erupted over such fictional characters in Hollywood before. From the backlash against the decision to cast the black actor Michael B. Jordan in the role of Johnny Storm in the new Fantastic Fourmovie to the white hysteria over casting Amandla Stenberg, a young black actress, as the character Rue in the first installment of The Hunger Games, white America regularly demonstrates its discomfort with the black presence in Hollywood and mass media in general.

Historically, black children were not exempt from white disenfranchisement, as they were anthropometrically measured and classified in the racist frameworks about the origins of humankind, which ranked persons in order of supposed “intelligence” and other imposed attributes, in much the way same as black adults. Early images of and writings about black children referring to them as “pickaninnies,” as they were once called, were well-established throughout the 19th and early 20th century and served to reinforce the psychology of white supremacy by reducing black children to caricatures and objects of amusement. It is no surprise, then, that the mere mention of black folk visually, geographically, professionally or otherwise in historically white institutions constitutes a threat to the established order of things for those white people who cannot imagine life beyond their own personal sense of self despite the presumption of a shared democracy. This is one reason that black youth are often portrayed as savages, animal-like menaces to society with a craving for mischief. Black children and other children of color, then, rarely find themselves in white media (film, TV) unless portrayed as less-than-productive members of society.

White children have abundant options and choices to see themselves broadly and positively represented in film, popular music, young-adult novels and other forms of media created by people who look like them. In particular, young white girls have an increasing number of affirming characters to witness, such as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games and Beatrice Prior in the Divergent series (whose film adaptation is coming soon). But black children are not so fortunate. A recent study by Nicole Martins and Kristen Harrison found that exposure to electronic media in long stretches can lower a child’s self-esteem, especially if the child is a white girl, a black girl or a black boy. This is especially concerning given that black children watch about 10 more hours of television per week than any other group. The amount of time exposed to the hegemonic forces of white media and its often-destructive content regarding black people and their children is toxic for their emotional health andphysical well-being, as blacks are made to internalize the deleterious messages that they receive daily, reminding them that they do not matter much in the world. Being rendered visible yet invisible induces “psychic violence” on black youth, limiting their ability and capacity to dream of life beyond the confines of white racial stereotypes about their life chances.

As black children grow into adulthood, they become potential competitors with the white status quo for jobs and other resource-generating opportunities, making it easier to justify their exclusion through violent and repressive means. The racist framing of black children by whites, blacks and others continues presently, informing school discipline policies that leave black youth vulnerable to the whims of the criminal justice system. Young black men are statistically more likely to be suspendedfrom school than their white classmates, setting them up for a catastrophic cycle of intergenerational poverty, despondency and a general lack of trust.

Guided by white racial knowledge and inheritance, many white teachers use what they have learned through intergenerational transmission of racist images, stories, conversations, and causal discourse about African Americans in society. If a schoolteachers are white and come from predominately middle-class enclaves, as research suggests that they do, then it can be assumed that many have very little contact or sustained interaction with the black community. Instead of operating from democratic impulses, they act from xenophobic inclinations, viewing black persons in enduringly hostile ways. It should be no surprise, then, that under these undemocratic and racist circumstances, black males are disciplined and harshly punished more for what they represent in the popular imagination than for what they actually do. It is no accident that African Americans (amongst other groups of color) occupy the lower rungs in society, given the legacy that white colonialism and oppression has had on the lives of black Americans over the last 350 years.

The frustration that most black Americans feel over everyday forms of racism can and often does cause emotional stress, anger and even self-hatred. We live in a racist society where black youth are routinely shamed by whites and other groups for their own inherited circumstances in life. Both Wallis and Stenberg are no strangers to racism, having been violently attacked through the media. During the Oscars in February 2013, satirical news outlet The Onion sent out a controversial tweet referring to Wallis as a “cunt.” Though this drew instant backlash and public ridicule, the very same public is now crazed over her recent casting in place of a redheaded, freckled-faced white girl to play a fictional character. Stenberg was called a “black bitch” and other horrifying epithets as an onslaught of fans expressed their regret for having cried over the death of what they later learned to be a black child.

Wounds like these are deeply etched in the collective memories of black people and have pernicious effects on health, which can linger for generations. The self-concept ofblack girls are uniformly shaped by what they glean from white U.S. media, which typically consists of debasing characterizations and unrealistic comparisons to white-female-normative standards of beauty and womanhood. In contrast, black boys and young men of color are typically depicted as the thug, the gang banger, the token black person, the comic relief, the ladies’ man, the athlete/dancer, the absentee father or, most damagingly, the violent and angry black man destined for a showdown with the criminal justice system.

America doesn’t care about black youth (especially boys and young men of color, whom they fear). This is evident in the way schooling is unequally funded, pushing poor black and brown children out. The most nefarious of abuses to blacks occurs in public education, as they are deprived of the opportunity to be educated on their terms in ways that foster success, which begins with healthy racial identity development and positive affirmation that blackness matters. White America has consistently put up the middle finger to black children through halfhearted policy measures that have done very little to alter the footprint of our nation’s past as it pertains to black children. To love black children means to embrace them as your own while recognizing their unique challenges — through no fault of their own — in a color-conscious society where racism remains foundational to the American experience.

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As evident with the videos and the articles provided, racial stereotypes do not affect both white lives and nonwhite lives with same impacts. The shopping while black videos elicit the perspective of black shoppers where based on racial profiling, they are treated as criminals and harassed. As a white woman, I have never experienced or heard of what was being shown in the videos, yet 60% of black shoppers have in America. I was extremely disturbed and hurt to see what was happening in the video even though it was an experiment.
As for the second part of the article, shopping while black took new meaning as the racial profiling was no longer a contained experiment, but racial profiling leading to death. The first video in part (b) demonstrates how hypocritical society can be, where it is socially acceptable in Ohio for whites to carry around guns publically, but as soon as a black man is seen with not even a real gun, people start to show concern for their safety. Fear of black men is so prevalent in our society and it is an unfair, horrible reality.

I agree its so unfair and just really disturbing how Americas perspective on whites and blacks is like will there ever be peace to America because when all well and done whites brought blacks over here and with that being said and how times are now whites did this to there own selves like don’t be racial profiling if you were the one going to have problems when we all want equality and fairness. Our government and economy is just a bunch of hypocrites that cant stand having equality. Black men have it very tough in deed and i just want to know when we can all work together to not be divided but as a whole.

I agree with Isaiah Davis. He said that “our government and economy is just a bunch of hypocrites that can’t stand having equality.” That is completely true because they don’t make any effort of helping the problem. Something obviously needs to change!

I’d have to back up Taylor’s experience as a white girl. I have never been followed in a store, and I’d only very recently heard of “Shopping while Black.” It hurts to watch these clips from “What Would You Do” and see people ignoring a scene like the ones caused in the boutique. But it also hurts to watch how obligated people feel to stand up to the outward form of racism, how emotional or heated they get over something so clearly ridiculous. The 20% of people who decided to stand up and fight with the manager and security guard were incredible hurt and annoyed at what was happening – but in the case of the second video I believe, after a couple women left with the accused shoplifting woman, a large crowd began to follow them out. It showed a direct impact and change just because of a couple people fighting back

i think that racism has been around for hundreds of years, and for that matter, to really point out someone who has a darker skin color (black) and to say that he is more dangerous or more likely to do something than a white man or woman is racial profiling, because you are looking at that person and making assumptions about them and saying that they are more likely to commit a crime than a person who is white, I think that its sad because you shouldn’t be judged or discriminated against about your skin color, but rather you should be looked at as a normal human being, the second part of this article is even more sad, because the black man who was in the Ohio Walmart with a “toy” BB gun, is shot and killed by police just because they saw him as a threat, I didn’t see him as a threat and people got scared and tried to justify that as why he was shot in the first place. I think that we all really make assumptions and take actions without even really knowing the whole story sometimes.

I agree that in the shopping while black video that the there was racial profiling but I also think it has to do with age because I know that some of the stores I’ve gone into they watch me kind of like what was happening to him. For the second part I’m split because I have heard multiple times that the 2 victims were possible suspects in a armed robbery that had just happened. Also his friends story could be biased. I do agree though that the officer did use excessive force. Lastly for part three one thing that stuck out is how it says that “This is evident in the way schooling is unequally funded, pushing poor black and brown children out”. I find this wrong because if anything I believe that the school system is trying to help them. I know that trying to get scholarships I could barley find any. Most of the scholarships that I found had something to with race or ethnicity and they were all for people of minority backgrounds. It seems that when it comes to scholarships you have to be a part of a minority group to even be eligible to enter. I ended up getting no help from scholarships because the few I was able to enter ended up having a whole bunch of entries and I didn’t win the scholarship.

I have to disagree with the second of the “bias” statement due to the fact that there were multiple witnesses and new video feeds of Michael having the tussle with the cop and shortly after getting executed. Secondly, there was no armed robbery but he did steal some cigars and used excessive force to move the owner of the store our of his way. That still does not give the right for a police officer (who wasn’t aware at the time that these kids were “Suspects” of an armed robbery) to gun down a kid in broad day light. I also take it that you have never been to an inner city high school, let me tell you, there is no help. Do you know how that school system helped me? by giving me a B- for keeping my mouth shut while everybody else was doing their own thing. teachers didn’t run the classrooms, students did. Also there is lack of mentors and advisers to help inner city kids to be on track for college. I do agree there are more scholarships for minorities but i sure as hell didn’t get any either so i guess we both got screwed.

Shopping while black is very real. i know walking into a store with group of friends can be intimidating, but that doesn’t give anybody the right to assume that group is stealing. I have been in that position where i have been followed. At first I find it historical because if i’m shopping, i’m buying. i’m to lazy to window shop. Then it gets annoying and i tend to voice my opinion. i will intentionally pick something up and say, “Don’t worry, i will steal this when you’re not looking.” That tends to work. In all honesty racism is still alive and it boggles my mind how quiet these people are when this is all happening. I would think someone would step in a bit quicker but then again it’s New York. Most importantly, I agree with the inequality aspect of students of color. Limited resources are available and there are limited mentors or and or advisers to help. It’s also hard to actually apply for ivy league colleges or receive scholarship funds when you come from low income schooling because no one shows these kids how to do it. Yes, low income schools do have the bill gates scholarship fund where bill gates will cover your tuition for any college you get into but there are limited slots for that group and not everyone can be eligible. Going to low income school then going to a suburb school has shown me a lot about inequality, its crazy how much funds can change if your school is 20 miles south .

The “Shopping while Black” videos were unreal to watch. If I were in the store while this was occurring, I would definitely say something to the manager. Nobody deserves to be treated like that no matter what! The manager wasted so much time discriminating the African Americans when someone else in the store could have been stealing. In the article, it mentions that media plays a huge role in portraying race. It said that “black boys and young men of color are depicted as the thug, the gang banger, the athlete, the absentee father or even the violent and angry black man and for the women, there is a lot of comparison between the beauty and womanhood of white females and black females.” The statements are completely accurate!

The “Shopping While Black” videos were so horrible to watch. Although it was acting, to know that that situation is real and that African American’s and other people of color are treated like criminals and to see that nobody was doing anything to stand up for them… They stated that out of the 100 people that had came in only 16 had actually spoke up. I can understand that some people could be scared to speak, but what is going to happen? You can be told to leave, but why would you want to shop at a place like that anyways?
There was surely racial profiling in that scenario, but I also believe age does make a bigger impact, whether you’re black or white. Because store employees tend to keep a wider eye on teens rather than older people. and i believe they do this because they have this idea that we don’t work or that we don’t have money, which is understandable. but this shouldn’t be the set perspective people have.

I think well being of African descent it really makes you think on how we are placed in society but also America makes a mockery of it in movies, TV shows, the music we listen to its so hard to be real now a days that its even fake to be an American citizen. A lot of people to presume that African Americans are like criminals and the video was just the acknowledgement. In this scenario there is racial profiling because we’ve had slavery so blacks are dirt right then we have civil rights which oh blacks aren’t totally equal then we have this where blacks can be profiled because of what happened in the past. Blacks had to stand up to get equality but i guess that wrong because now if we differentiate between a white person stealing something and a black person stealing something more likely the black person is going to jail and the white person gets off free because blacks didn’t do what the white inferiors wanted them to do but it was unfair and now they have jurisdictions on it and become a authority of the law and shoot an African American and its fine. But this is America. Also age has nothing to o weather your black or white because most of the kids are getting killed are teens. But the prospective of this is unjust and unethical.

I agree with Isaiah: America has mocked everybody’s image of society through Hollywood, music and TV shows. Seeing perfection through these entertainment sources is America’s idea of what it is; not anyone else’s.

Blacks, and many other minority groups, are used in either “supporting” or “adversary” roles to the average white American in the US society. There has to be a mass movement in the way minorities are portrayed in the mass media to make any major difference, and whites have to be on-board with supporting the movement by accepting that “white guilt” leads us nowhere, and that the historical struggles of minorities isn’t our fault. However, we must accept that we do, either willingly or unwillingly, partake in the advantages offered us from the oppression of those struggles. By using our white privileges as shields to the minorities, instead of swords, we can help change the entire perspective of the arguments at hand.

I believe that whites and nonwhites are both affected by racial stereotypes. Whites who have black friends or friends from a minority obviously care about them and if they are hurt by something that’s happened as a form of discrimination, they will also be offended. It’s sad how a black person can be completely disowned in a grocery store or other public place just because of the color of their skin and how they are seen in society. Instead of making minorities seem just as important as whites, America seems to be doing the opposite and supporting dumb stereotypes.

I agree with you about white people being affected by this. Some people cannot see how they might be though. It is hard to see your friend upset, especially if it has to do with race because you simply cannot change your race.

I think the impacts are different at both ends of the spectrum, but blacks face much more negative impacts of racial stereotypes than whites. Though whites have their privileges, it’s apparent by these videos that the mass of customers (predominantly white) don’t do anything to stop the racial slurs occurring between the black customers, white managers and white security guard. Though they are actors, the content of their scenario reflects very real circumstances to the black community. Supporting evidence is of the uppermost video where the young man captures many store clerks following him for suspicion of shoplifting.

Being a young, attractive blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman, I have never had to worry about being followed in stores for suspicion of shoplifting. In all honesty, because of my social/racial story-line, I knew/know I could get away with it with some crocodile-tears and a series of panicked apologies (not saying I ever had, its just the unfortunate advantage I have). That being said, it’s disgusting that the poor black women of the video were harassed and publicly humiliated because of their racial/social story-line!

Why didn’t more people speak up against the scenarios they were watching? Does it have to do with their ideology and roles they feel they have in their testimonies? Just like the women in the second video said, what would’ve been done if three white women had entered the store? Probably nothing. So here’s the major question: we know that communication is the key to helping overcome racism in the US, so how do we utilize the mass media to educate the minds of young Americans at a pace that can deliver relatively “fast” results (within a generation or so), or continue promoting education so that people take their opportunities seriously and learn more about society in order to BETTER society?

The last video really got to me. I wouldn’t even know what to do if I witnessed such an event.

I will never understand why companies or even individuals will act like this. African Americans are no more likely to steal than any other race. There is no specific “color” that translates to a thief.

When it comes to police officers and law enforcement I feel that sometimes they get on their high horse way too often. It’s something about that job that makes some people feel as if they have so much power and should show it. But that doesn’t mean that all police are terrible people. What can happen to make someone think that they can take away another person’s life? That officer was not thinking about that young man’s parents, siblings, friends, teachers, or even a pet at that. That young man had a life ahead of him and was just walking home. Yes, it was at 2 in the morning but you cannot tell me that everyone in the world goes home at a decent time.

These type of stories and headlines happen all too often. But that’s what makes great news right? Let’s continue to watch the news and discuss these topics with our friends, family, and co workers and not do anything to prevent this. Don’t get me wrong, I wish our generation could figure out how to be “equal” but the fact is that there are certain stereotypes and assumptions that come from long ago. And it’s difficult to change when history has been consistent in dividing our society.

Tasha, I really liked your post. I also agree that we often see these things on media but don’t do anything about it. Stereotypes are somethings that difficult to reverse and some people are just set in their ways. People like that actually believe stereotypes to be true but that is so wrong. Just like you mentioned, there is no specific “color” that translates a thief.

I agree with you for the fact that skin color does not make one more likely to steal than a different skin color. Also, people definitely should stand up against what police do that becomes big news like this instead of just discussing with friends and family.

I completely agree on every single aspect. Police officers really are on a high horse. One thing i think is wrong about the police force is that they are trained like soldiers, soldiers are supposed to fight, where as cops are not cops are the peace keepers or should be at least,they are there to uphold the law and serve the communities, not pull guns and shoot teens because they cannot process that they are doing nothing wrong. That is why I believe these teen shootings are occuring way to often these days.

I also agree that the last video was what got me. I actually got goosebumps while hearing his story. And I cannot believe how shallow the cops were and how they just assumed that they were committing a crime because it was at 2 in the morning. He was an innocent man that was just trying to get home to his loved ones. Instead, he was shot, and dead, just because the cops saw that he was black. That’s so messed up.

I agree with Tasha that police get on their high horse. I agree with her because it has happened to me. I encountered a police and he was straight up rude. Accused me of something that I didn’t even do. On top of that he continued to ask me questions to see if I would give in to admitting that I did something I really didn’t do. After he did all of that he made me do something to only prove that I wasn’t lying and then he tied informing me with information that I already knew but I held my own. After he did all of that he put down someone that claimed she was depressed and was put on a lot of pills. I just thought it was unnecessary for everything he did.

It’s really sad to see racial profiling on children or young adults. All these videos are proof of that. Reading the article there is also proof that children are victims and it’s evident in the way schooling is unequally funded, pushing poor black and brown children out. The most nefarious of abuses to blacks occurs in public education, and are deprived of their opportunities to be educated on their terms in ways that foster success. Racial profiling affects people’s lives and when the youth become adults the profiling doesn’t stop. It really makes it seem that America doesn’t care about black youth.

I agree with Lorena. Blacks already suffer enough with discrimination in the workplace as well as not having the same equal opportunity as whites in education, etc. It is really sad to see that blacks are not even given a chance, but are immediately stereotyped as thief’s when these white store clerks do not even know them personally.

It’s really sad to see racial profiling on children or young adults. All these videos are proof of that. Reading the article there is also proof that children are victims and it’s evident in the way schooling is unequally funded, pushing poor black and brown children out. The most nefarious of abuses to blacks occurs in public education, and are deprived of their opportunities to be educated on their terms in ways that foster success. Racial profiling affects people’s lives and when the youth become adults the profiling doesn’t stop. It really makes it seem that America doesn’t care about black youth.

I disagree, I do believe that non-whites do get way more racial profiling at stores and what not due to there ethnicity. Its very sad that this kind of thing occurs today but sadly it is true. I have some friends back at home that have had this exact thing happen to them like in video A. Clerks I feel like always gun for the non whites and really give them unfair scenarios. I wish we could all just be treated equally and clerks really would treat everyone the same.

Racial stereotypes affect nonwhites more often and tend to impact their lives in a negative way early on. “Shopping While Black” displays the racial profiling blacks experience on a normal outing to a grocery store.I find this highly disturbing that these workers target someone just because their skin color. This young boy is already aware that due to the color of his skin, he is the target for being a theft while shopping. After watching the experimental shopping it really stunned me to see how little support and defense these black women got after being discriminated for their skin color and clothing. I find it disgusting how the white male even discriminated the black women by accusing her of using the “black card” and then later told the cameras how it was unfair. However, I did not expect to see one of the defenders break down and cry because of how they were treating the black women. Therefore, I do believe some of the racial profiling that targets black people, in particular, affects both people with the same impacts.

I agree with beccam2014.
Many people witnessed the discrimination against the defenseless black women, but there wasn’t enough done to stop it. Why is it that if people witness something morally wrong happening, they don’t step in to stop it? Their white privilege has protected many of the witnesses, shielding them from the horrors that black people experience.

I think that this issue still affects the white people because even though a few people stepped in, it exacerbates the issue of racial discrimination. Because most the white people didn’t step in for an situation this intense, chances are that they won’t step in the next time, and their inaction just prolongs the conflict and widens the racial gap between white and black people.

The first clip of the store employee following the kid around the store is a perfect example of how stereotypes leads to discrimination and racism. This kid who has not been caught shop lifting in this store before gets tailed around the store as soon as he enters because 1. he is a male and 2. he is of color. The women tries to play if off but is clear she is following him. He could have possibly been doing something sketchy inside the store to provoke this behavior but from the video he is clearly not doing anything wrong. As for the shooting I have seen way to many videos like that recently where cops believe they are above the law or are way too trigger happy and shoot anything that they don’t understand or before they can make a clear judgement. It is acts like these that are never going to allow America to evolve in the right direction, but bring us further back, and it is sad because I want to believe America is the best place for anybody to live and everyone to feel safe, but in all honesty it is not.

The first two videos really show that the store clerks are discriminating against particular age group, but just an overall race. It disgusts me how even to this day, being a darker shade of skin leads store clerks to believe that that individual has the tendency to steal. I was appalled to know that even wealth doesn’t come into play, for famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey was discriminated against as well. The close-mindedness of such individuals really encourages others to think it is okay to treat another human being like this just for being black. Although I may not be black, I am half-asian and have experienced similar acts towards my race. There have been a few occasions where the cash register was not responding and I was jokingly told to “do the math because you’re asian”. Although it was playful, it really hurt my feelings to know that I was automatically placed under that category based on my race. Thus, relating back to the discrimination of the blacks, not all african americans have the traits of a thief as proposed by many white store clerks.

I would say that there are stereotypes and assumptions that go with every walk of life. If you look at white people in separate divisions, you’d say Irish people are drunks, maybe the English are all proper, and the French hate everyone but love their wine. People of Asian descent are “supposed” to be super smart, people from central America are lazy. But the stereotypes that go with being black are overwhelming.
In the videos about “Shopping While Black,” it’s both disturbing and eye-opening. The fact that this situation-specific racial profiling is so prominent that it has an actual title is just appalling. Both of these sets of videos, with the Viner, and the “What Would You Do” show just prove the continuous existence of the black criminal, and show that color-blind racism – though still prominent – hasn’t yet trumped your typical, outward, injustice racism.
I think we can all appreciate the Viner, Rashid Polo, for his semi-comical approach to bringing the “Shopping While Black” racism to light. Because of the popularity of his vine(s), the word’s been spread and people of the teenage and young adult generations are becoming more aware of the actual reality of the world around them.
I love the “What Would You Do” show, I do. I know people who won’t watch it because it makes them uncomfortable. Truthfully, there have been plenty of episodes that have made me consider watching something else, I’ve watched episodes focusing on homophobia, couple’s abuse, and a few other harsh topics. But the shows involving racism have always been a little more unsettling. Why? I really don’t know. It might be white guilt, it might be that I’m afraid to admit that I might be one of those passive bystanders. But it’s a beneficial show to watch for many reasons, it’s helped me get better about that kind of thing.
But in these particular clips with the adult black female shopper and small group of female black teenagers, it’s incredible to find out that over the course of two days (for both videos), only about 20% of the 100+ witnesses actually took a step and defended the women being attacked, accused, and abused. It’s a little sickening that people will still watch this type of thing continue to happen RIGHT in front of them, and they’ll ignore it and five minutes later be back to primping or just continuing on like nothing happened. I’m not saying that anyone who sits and allows this to happen is racist or supporting it, it’s just that they’re afraid of being the person who steps in and makes a scene, it’s a natural human occurrence. But it needs to stop, and this show brings it to light in a very realistic way. The female shopper in the first video stated afterward that she has to “be conscious of what I wear before I go shopping.” She’s experienced “Shopping while Black” before, and it hasn’t been changing.
The second group of clips (b), take an even more dramatic turn and I think they need to be put out there even more for people to see. In the case of John Crawford, the man holding a bb-gun in a Wal-Mart, all it took was him standing a certain way, and being born black, for a man to call 9-1-1 on him and to be falsely accused of pointing the gun at people in the store. This lead to a police officer opening fire on Crawford, with either minimal-to-no warning, in the middle of an aisle. Just as Michael Brown was “shot like an animal” in the last video, I’m appreciative of these getting national attention and being brought to the Justice Courts.
From the article, I found the most important point to be that of “psychic violence” on black youth. This limits their ability and capacity to dream of life beyond the confines of white racial stereotypes about their life chances. It’s easy to blame this type of thing on the media, because thanks to media, this type of psychological violence is possible and growing.
Racism, at this rate, will never cease to exist so long as the idea of race continues to live.

As evident with the videos and the articles provided, racial stereotypes do not affect both white lives and nonwhite lives with same impacts. The shopping while black videos elicit the perspective of black shoppers where based on racial profiling, they are treated as criminals and harassed. As a white woman, I have never experienced or heard of what was being shown in the videos, yet 60% of black shoppers have in America. I was extremely disturbed and hurt to see what was happening in the video even though it was an experiment.
As for the second part of the article, shopping while black took new meaning as the racial profiling was no longer a contained experiment, but racial profiling leading to death. The first video in part (b) demonstrates how hypocritical society can be, where it is socially acceptable in Ohio for whites to carry around guns publically, but as soon as a black man is seen with not even a real gun, people start to show concern for their safety. Fear of black men is so prevalent in our society and it is an unfair, horrible reality.

Watching this video was very disturbing for me. Seeing how the shoppers would react to the racial remarks and encounters that were going on in the store was good and bad. Some people didn’t even say anything, instead they just watched and stood on store manager’s side line. Although, seeing some other shoppers step up and defend the black shoppers was a moment of relief. It seems evident that if a black shopper was in there and saw another black person being a victim of racial inequality, they would especially defend them and take it very personally as well. As it should be. It’s sad that this happens on a daily basis, and ignoring these instances is a lack of voice and consciousness.

I cannot believe the actions that people have when they see a black person shopping, or walking around. To think that White Americans could actually say something like that to a African American scares me. If I were in their shoes, and they told me “you can’t afford that” or “you have to leave because I can’t keep my eyes on you”, I don’t know how I would react. I would be too shocked and hurt by their comments. The shoppers around them did not even say a thing to back up the African American lady. People just assume that all blacks are shoplifters and cannot be trusted. I really just don’t understand why racism even became a thing. Good people are based off of their actions, and not their color. For all we know, during this experiment, someone who was white could have shoplifted while the salesclerk were so focused on the blacks. People should always stand up for others, whether you have the same skin color or not. We come from the same world, and we should always be there for one another. It’s just the better thing to do.

Watching this video is very disturbing to me! Me being not white, am sort of scared for me and others in todays society if that how we react if a black person is simply shopping. To think that white americas think that this is ok is very wrong to me and it needs to stop now. If black people in this country actually have to see thing like this still go on and see whites still treating them like this, how do you think blacks will start treating white americans for no reason.

Racial stereotypes may be common in people of all races, however the impacts they generate among white and nonwhite individuals are different. In the videos and reading evidence can be found that people of color suffer more than white people and the aid needed to overcome the harsh behaviors are not always present. For example, in the first video, “Shopping While Black” demonstrates through images captured on tape the frustration a young boy has to face every time he goes to a store. Surprisingly, even Oprah Winfrey who is a billionaire could not escape racial stereotypes when she was refused a luxurious purse in Italy. Another example of racial stereotypes can be seen in the What Would You Do? , television series because the clip showed how the black actors were questioned and accused of planning to steal clothing. Set in an upstate shop, the clerk was doing extra procedures and searching inside the black customer’s bag; insisting she was protecting other white customers. In the reading, the author pointed out that racial stereotyping occurs at a young age and . In the tragedy of Michael Brown, racial stereotypes were part of the reason he died in the hands of a police officer. In the officer’s defense, he believed Brown was dangerous and was planning to reach for his weapon. Sadly, he was shot numerous times and his friend could only witness.

It just makes me completely sad and angry. It saddens me that all of those people in that store had NOTHING to say at all. Regardless of if you know them or not. If you were ever put in that situation act upon how you would feel and how you would expect people to act or defend you. It’s sad that people can just sit there and be bystanders. I guess I can’t say much but I definitely do not approve at all about anything to do with that. It makes me really upset because people that they claim to be “perfectly okay” to shop can be the ones to be doing the dirty things. You just never know but you shouldn’t judge someone by the appearance of someone.
For the last video I absolutely hate seeing things like that because it is so unfair. All because a white man with a badge will not ever go to jail. He has every reason to be innocent when he acted in such a way that is unacceptable. I don’t know how the people we EXPECT to watch over us and PROTECT us are the ones that are killing and hurting us within a blink of an eye. It is sad that there is so much police brutality going on in the world and you don’t see any one of them getting in trouble. I have even encountered such a thing and it makes trusting them very hard. There are too many police out there that just take their job out of hand. They have one job and that is to protect us NOT harm us.

i find these videos very offensive because the manager is discriminating against black people. While the discriminating was occurring, a white person could have been stealing the same time. In the last video, the man was shot and he wasn’t even doing anything wrong.

White stereotypes are not as impactful on white people’s lives as others experience. White people seem to be impacted positively by stereotypes, although this may turn into impacting them in a negative manner because they may then feel that they must live up to certain standards. I think stereotypes about whites consist about the different economic statuses, such as low class white families are often stereotyped as living in a trailer park and have drug and alcohol problems. However I don’t believe these stereotypes are as impactful on white people, than those put on nonwhites. People of color receive very damaging stereotypes that not only hurt the person but also heavily affect all aspects of their daily lives. Something as simple going shopping, will get you accused of shoplifting simply because you aren’t white. A popular occurrence that I have seen take place seldom on the street is due to the stereotypes that men, specifically black men will try to harm a woman on the street. This stereotypes causes women to fear a man simply walking on the street, they show this by crossing the street in order to avoid them or pretending to be on the phone. It is a common stereotype that if a white person gets pulled over by a cop they will be let off with a warning, but if a person of color gets pulled over they will undoubtedly receive a ticket. Police violence largely related with people of color, stereotypes lead cops to act unjustifiably towards them, which has led to the murdering of many innocent people of color. Society has very little guilt for innocent murders towards minorities, it has almost been forced made so that it should not be questioned and no action should be taken for justice.

Madeline I agree, that was very shocking. Adding on to your point of the group following the women. I’d like to point out that the people who influenced the group to realize it was wrong were not people of color. I feel like if there were black people were defending the women, no one in the store would react in a positive manner, if anything people would feel negative and feel as though they are causing a scene. I find it upsetting that in order for a problem to be heard a person who isn’t of color must make a move in order to cause others to react.

I agree with many of the comments posted. The fact that stereotypes have caused so much humiliation and grief for so many different races and ethnicities makes me sick to my stomach. No human should have to deal with a humiliating stereotype about there race just because the look a certain way. I continue to ask the question why is there still heavy amounts of stereotypical racism throughout not only the U.S but the world.

I think it is extremely unfair how society treats blacks and whites so differently. No one can chose the way they are, and no one should be judged by the color of their skin. I find it horrible that people today are treated that way. I think it is also horrible that for news to be heard a person of color can not speak up about it. I do not know when there will ever be a end to the segregation, but I hope it comes sooner than later.